- Cancer Information
- Fertility
Fertility
Fertility means being able to get pregnant or make someone pregnant.
Talking about fertility before treatment
You may have many concerns following a cancer diagnosis and when planning your treatment. One of these may be how treatment could affect your ability to remain fertile.
If you are worried or have questions about fertility, talk to your healthcare team and make sure you get information that is relevant to your individual situation. Some decisions about fertility need to be made before treatment starts.
Fertility is an important part of your care and should be discussed with your healthcare team. You do not need to be in a relationship or be a certain age, gender or sexual orientation to have this conversation.
How cancer treatment can affect fertility
The effect of cancer treatment on fertility can vary.
- Some cancer treatments are unlikely to cause fertility problems.
- Some treatments may cause fertility problems during treatment or for a short time afterwards.
- Some treatments can cause long-term or permanent damage to fertility.
Your doctor or nurse can explain whether there are ways you may be able to protect your fertility during cancer treatment. For example, taking certain drugs during chemotherapy may help protect the ovaries from some damage.
Fertility preservation
Some types of treatment may make you infertile. Your healthcare team should talk to you about fertility preservation before treatment begins.
Depending on your individual circumstances, fertility preservation may include:
- Storing sperm
- Storing eggs
- Storing embryos
These options should be discussed with a fertility specialist as an urgent matter before cancer treatment starts.
Further information
The following information can help you learn more about fertility and cancer:
- Fertility and cancer | Macmillan Cancer Support
- The reproductive system
- Cancer treatments and fertility
- Fertility preservation
Contraception during and after cancer treatment
Even if your cancer treatment could damage fertility, your cancer doctor may talk to you about contraception to prevent a pregnancy.
This is because some treatments:
- Can damage sperm or eggs. This may affect a baby and cause abnormalities if a pregnancy starts during treatment.
- Are harmful to a baby developing in the womb.
After cancer treatment
It can take time to move forward with life after cancer treatment. The decision to try to have a baby is a big one for anyone to make.
Talk to your healthcare team so they can support and advise you based on your individual circumstances.
You may need to see a fertility expert and have fertility tests to assess your body. Some people, if suitable, may need fertility treatment to help them start a pregnancy.
Sources of support
Your healthcare team is there to support you. This includes your GP.
If you would prefer to talk to a counsellor, your GP or cancer doctor can arrange this. Many hospitals also have specialist nurses who can offer support. Fertility clinics may also have a counsellor you can talk to.
Macmillan Cancer Support can also provide information and support:
- Call the Macmillan Support Line free on 0808 808 0000.
- Chat to Macmillan specialists online.
Access information in other languages or formats. - Use the Ask an Expert page to ask one of their experienced professionals.
Talking to other people
Talking to other people can be helpful while you are thinking about your options. You may want to talk to someone close to you, someone from your community, or other people in a similar situation.
Some organisations can provide support, specialist advice and counselling. You can also talk to people online. The Macmillan Online Community is a good place to start.
Other organisations that can help
The following organisations offer information and support about a range of fertility and parenting issues:
- Action for Children
- Adoption UK
- Brilliant Beginnings
- British Infertility Counselling Association (BICA)
- Cancer, Fertility and Me
- Childlessness Overcome Through
- Surrogacy (COTS)
- Donor Conception Network
- Fertility Network UK
- Fostering Network
- Gingerbread
- Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA)
- New Family Social
- Stonewall
- Surrogacy UK
- Teenagers and Young Adults with Cancer
Source information
The original document references Macmillan Cancer Support as a source of information on fertility and cancer.